In a downtown Boulder art gallery, anatomical hearts fill the room. They have been made from all sorts of materials: silk, wool felt, gold. Even flowers line the bottom of one heart’s glass case.

The woman behind the hearts is Boulder artist Beth Van De Water, who has channeled a range of emotions — from grief to rage to love — into her exhibition, “Los Corazones,” Spanish for “the hearts.”

Van De Water is the current artist-in-residence at The New Local’s Annex, 713 Pearl St. She said it’s been fun to watch people’s responses to “Los Corazones,” which has been on display since mid-November, and note which depiction of the heart each viewer gravitates to.

“It’s not the typical little heart that we think of, it’s actually an organic heart,” Van De Water said. “And people aren’t put off by it. They’re actually seeing beauty in it, like I see.”

Originally from Denver, Van De Water is a self-taught artist. Her background as a jeweler informed some of the “Los Corazones” pieces, including a few sterling silver necklaces, but most of the work in the exhibition utilizes textiles.

In “Expanding Heart,” an oil painting of the organ is surrounded by spiraling silk thread. “Missing America” features blue-and-white porcelain hearts against a dark red backdrop. Van De Water even crafted a dress for the exhibition using organic linen and cotton.

“I have an absolute passion for textiles and always have,” Van De Water said. “It’s not intentional that everything is a different material, it just feels right.”

Van De Water made several of the hearts with her family in mind, including her daughter and late mother. She said some of the pieces also weave together crafting techniques frequently associated with women, such as quilting, with the more masculine art of metalworking.

“I wanted to be able to have that duality and really speak to the idea that women in the arts have definitely been sidelined, but we are completely capable,” she said.Van De Water has been a supporter of The New Local and its mission to highlight female artists for years, and has previously led embroidery classes at the nonprofit. Still, she said she’s never had the opportunity to display her work in a formal exhibition before now.

“I was a teacher for 35 years, so I’ve never done anything like this before,” she said. “I would have never said that I’m an artist and stood in that space. I was a teacher who happened to make jewelry on the side.”

There’s another element to “Los Corazones,” as well — sewing circles, which are held at the Annex from 1 to 3 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays. Van De Water explained that the circles, which sometimes draw around six participants, are meant to give women a place to carve out time for creative endeavors.

“When you have a project that’s going to take 20 hours, it’s really easy for it to end up in a bag in the back of the closet,” she explained. “So I wanted to create a space where, like a yoga class, you just show up once a week for your hour, and you work on it.”

Van De Water said the sewing circles were also inspired by her time living in Spain, where her small group of neighbors would come together every afternoon to take a walk.

“That sense of community was so striking,” she said. “It was checking in on each other, as well, and I wanted to bring that back to the States in any way that I could.”

On Wednesday, sewing circle member Ali DeJohn visited the Annex to chip away at a project that’s taken her almost five years: a handmade quilt for her daughter.

“There’s just a lot of love stitched into it,” DeJohn said. “When you’re a busy mom, you don’t have a lot of time for creativity. It’s so special to be able to gather in the spirit of creativity, on so many levels.”

Tara Huston, another circle member who worked on an embroidered heart Wednesday, said she enjoys seeing the incremental progress she makes at each gathering.

“I’m more of a beginner, but it feels good to just jump in and be playful about it,” Huston said.

“Los Corazones” will be on display through Dec. 31. Open exhibition hours are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays.